Aemilius wrote:How could we know by any "textual analysis" the truth about the origin of the sutras!? I doubt this method very much. And how about the existence of the Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya Buddha, and the Nirmakaya Bodhisattvas? Their views and their inspiration mean nothing because we trust only the word analyzing academics! The scholars have some interesting things, I agree with that, but it is far from being the truth, the whole truth, the essential truth.In the Sarvastivadin Agamas, that have been translated into english, Buddha talks about Bodhisattva Maitreya, slightly critizises him, and then predicts that he will become the next Buddha after 30 000 years.

hey friend don't worry! didn't you read my post "side note"? i feel all the sutras are important, regardless of who may or may not have composed them! if they work, they work! it doesn't matter where they came from, as long as they function. i was only questioning the place of these doom sutras because they do not fit with the rest of the working, harmonized dharma. i see a thousand sutras that are relatively consistent in thought, and then three that are totally different and have no place among the rest, i feel free to reject those.

***(see below)***yup, you guys are right. the dharma is over. we should all give up and quit, buddhism is gone from the world. no one is practicing correctly. odd that all you naysayers are still practicing yourselves if you feel this way...

let's all just quit. buddhism is in decline and is never coming back. inside the next fifty years few will even know what buddhism is, and none will practice correctly.

thanks for opening my eyes! i'm going to quit practicing and throw away all my dharma books! i'm so glad i started this post. otherwise i may have continued to have positive feelings about the dharma! what a great thing it is that so many dharma practitioners on a site called dharma wheel are so inclined to condemn the current state of the dharma, and to have such impossible insight into it as to know, beyond a doubt, what is going on inside the minds of every dharma practitioner on the entire planet and to be able to predict the future of the dharma! wow, psychic powers at their finest! and to speak about it's demise from a place of true knowledge! thanks again guys!

***the above contains a small hint of sarcasm, obviously. and certainly a GREAT level of playfulness and humor, i'm not trying to offend anyone, i greatly appreciate all the information guys! thanks, sincerely! i'm sad for all that feel this way about the dharma though. i'm done with this topic and am not going to post anything else on it. i originally was just curious and was too short sighted to realize this would turn into a very depressing debate. no one knows any of this stuff for certain, it's all just VERY negative speculation. good luck to you all.

We do know for certain that all is impermanent, even the buddhadharma.

However, it is entirely up to Buddhist practitioners as to when Gautama's teachings are so corrupted that they fit into the prophecy of the Dharma Ending Age. In short, we can prolong (or shorten) the life of the Dharma, but not prevent its death.

Basically, there is not even one buddha, only great wisdom. Bodhisattva Hsuan Hua

Aemilius wrote:How could we know by any "textual analysis" the truth about the origin of the sutras!? I doubt this method very much. And how about the existence of the Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya Buddha, and the Nirmakaya Bodhisattvas? Their views and their inspiration mean nothing because we trust only the word analyzing academics! The scholars have some interesting things, I agree with that, but it is far from being the truth, the whole truth, the essential truth.In the Sarvastivadin Agamas, that have been translated into english, Buddha talks about Bodhisattva Maitreya, slightly critizises him, and then predicts that he will become the next Buddha after 30 000 years.

hey friend don't worry! didn't you read my post "side note"? i feel all the sutras are important, regardless of who may or may not have composed them! if they work, they work! it doesn't matter where they came from, as long as they function. i was only questioning the place of these doom sutras because they do not fit with the rest of the working, harmonized dharma. i see a thousand sutras that are relatively consistent in thought, and then three that are totally different and have no place among the rest, i feel free to reject those.

Hello ! I'm sorry that complained to the wrong person. I feel that we are each in different stages of practice, and thus we see the world accordingly, we see the "objective" Dharma accordingly, although it is a reflection of our own state of mind, our own experience.The doom sutras belong to the normal human experience. They are even alright, if you start really practicing because of them.

I don't know if there actually are any doom sutras? If you mean any sutra where the Tathagata considers tha period of Dharma to be limited, then there are many such sutras. Or then you maybe mean just a certain type of interpretation of these sutras, like the Lotus sutra school and the Amitabha sutra schools. They speak of the Mappo era, and that their doctrine is suited to this particular time (of degeneration). Do you actually mean the above mentioned popular & essential Mahayana sutras? or their interpretations? Same kind of sentiments are common also in the Vajrayana schools, they abound in profecies of future degenerate times, etc...I think that the Tathagata genuinely felt that the Dharma is impermanent, that He saw how the Dharma of the previous Buddhas had always existed only for certain duration, that it was by nature transitory, and that human beings were by nature deteriorating, which would ultimately destroy the Dharma & the Sangha.

Frank wrote:isn't this when the scriptures are forgotten, the dharma largely abandoned? why do i keep hearing people say that we are living in the dharma ending age? dharma is preserved on paper, digitally, in stone/steel, woodblocks, tattooed, memorized, etc. millions of people are practicing it world wide and the numbers are growing. the dharma is not going anywhere anytime soon. how could this possibly be the dharma ending age?

unless there is a sutra that defines this phrase differently than i'm thinking, we should be safe from dharma ending for quite some time.

From my point of view it is the Dharma ending age.

I learnt Dharma in my meditation.When i searched for this understanding of Dharma on internet, I discovered that it is from Lotus Sutra.In India all around me none understood this Lotus sutra.I searched for meditating saints in Himalayas and I found none.I went to Dharmshala, present active centre of Buddhism in India, I found none who could expand, explain or discuss Lotus sutra. Yes, some read it like a parrot and some gave me honour and respect out of their feelings.I came to this Dharma wheel site with hope that there are many scholars here, But have been literally thrown out. Some even said that Lotus sutra is not the important sutra . They negated the words of Guatam buddha , who has repeated again and again that Lotus sutra is not only the best , but is only the last and final sutra.Guatam Buddha said that at the end of Dharma era, such a persons will be the rarest of rare, who has digested this sutra.

While I do not claim to know all about Lotus sutra but if there was some discussion, disagreement or opening of Lotus sutra on this site, I could have expanded my understanding of Lotus sutra after give and take.

Since 1992, right or wrong, I feel I am alone with this Sutra

THIS is what I want to talk about.Let's discuss."The world honored one has long expounded his teachings and now must reveal the truth.""This sutra is the highest of all I have preached in the past, am teaching, and will preach in the future." -Lotus Sutra

Yes we are in ending dharma age , but also there proper dharma age . Who practice dharma ending age will not be free from cycle of birth and death . And who practice proper dharma age will be free from cycle of birth and death .

And the teaching of dharma ending age like modern buddhist and who practice buddhism with osho teaching .And modern buddhist they reject some sutra like what buddha said in dharma ending age .

"Quarrels and disputes will arise among the adherents of my teachings, and the true Law will be on the verge of being obscured and lost."- Great Collection Sutra

Buddhism spread through the Indian subcontinent during and after the Buddha's lifetime for several centuries and later declined, eventually being all but wiped out.After the teachings were introduced in China a similar progression of events took place.Now it's spreading all over the world.